Earnie Stokes, former Centreville preacher, up for parole in wife's death

Siblings of victim oppose his early release from prison

Earnie and Syble Stokes had been married for 35 years when she was fatally shot at their Centreville home in 2005. Earnie Stokes pleaded guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Photo courtesy of friends of Stokes

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer | The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 9:11 p.m.

Syble Stokes' siblings didn't push for their sister's killer to serve life in prison.

Instead, they agreed to let Earnie Stokes plead guilty to manslaughter and serve a 20-year prison sentence. Now they want to make sure he serves every minute of it.

“We want the public to realize that Syble is not forgotten,” Deborah Pullen said of her sister who was shot dead by her husband eight years ago. “We remember very well what he did on the night of Sept. 20. We think justice is being served, and he should not be paroled at this time.”

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles is scheduled to consider possible parole at a hearing on Nov. 20. Pullen, her bro-ther and sisters have all written letters to the board opposing his release and have encouraged others to do the same.

The retired Baptist preacher called police to his Montevallo Road home in Centreville on Sept. 20, 2005. He claimed that an intruder had thrown gasoline in his face and beaten him with a brick during a home invasion. He used a mobile phone to call 911 from his truck outside the house.

Law enforcement officers arrived to find Syble Stokes, 53, dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the couple's bedroom.

Investigators were immediately suspicious of Stokes, who had been married to Syble for more than 35 years. Police dogs didn't pick up the scent of any strangers in the area. There was no trace of the gasoline Stokes said the suspect had thrown at him.

Investigators later found surveillance tape from a local store that showed Stokes buying a box of .22-caliber bullets just two days before the shooting. They learned that he had been involved in an extramarital affair and that the woman had recently tried to break it off during a weekend trip to Atlanta. He had confessed to a friend that he had not been intimate with his wife for years, investigators said.

Stokes, now 61, was arrested in March 2006 and pleaded guilty in August 2008. He is being held at St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville and is not scheduled to be released until Feb. 22, 2027, at age 74. Prosecutors were ready with what they called “mountains of evidence” to present if the case had been tried before a jury.

According to Alabama assistant attorney general Andrew Arrington, forensic evidence suggested that Stokes stood far from his wife and pulled the trigger. He said she was likely sitting up on the side of the bed when the bullet struck her.

“This was not a close shot,” Arrington said in 2008. “He was a coward. He stood from a distance and he shot her. She didn't suffer.”

The murder was the first to happen in the small town in at least 15 years. Residents simultaneously mourned “Miss Syble's” death while fearing for their own safety.

Syble worked part time at Rockco's Funeral Home and was known as someone who would help anyone in need.

“He needs to stay in prison for the maximum 20 years, because of the choice he made to kill her,” Pullen said. “He didn't give her a chance to defend herself.”

<p>Syble Stokes' siblings didn't push for their sister's killer to serve life in prison.</p><p>Instead, they agreed to let Earnie Stokes plead guilty to manslaughter and serve a 20-year prison sentence. Now they want to make sure he serves every minute of it.</p><p>“We want the public to realize that Syble is not forgotten,” Deborah Pullen said of her sister who was shot dead by her husband eight years ago. “We remember very well what he did on the night of Sept. 20. We think justice is being served, and he should not be paroled at this time.”</p><p>The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles is scheduled to consider possible parole at a hearing on Nov. 20. Pullen, her bro-ther and sisters have all written letters to the board opposing his release and have encouraged others to do the same.</p><p>The retired Baptist preacher called police to his Montevallo Road home in Centreville on Sept. 20, 2005. He claimed that an intruder had thrown gasoline in his face and beaten him with a brick during a home invasion. He used a mobile phone to call 911 from his truck outside the house.</p><p>Law enforcement officers arrived to find Syble Stokes, 53, dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the couple's bedroom.</p><p>Investigators were immediately suspicious of Stokes, who had been married to Syble for more than 35 years. Police dogs didn't pick up the scent of any strangers in the area. There was no trace of the gasoline Stokes said the suspect had thrown at him.</p><p>Investigators later found surveillance tape from a local store that showed Stokes buying a box of .22-caliber bullets just two days before the shooting. They learned that he had been involved in an extramarital affair and that the woman had recently tried to break it off during a weekend trip to Atlanta. He had confessed to a friend that he had not been intimate with his wife for years, investigators said.</p><p>Stokes, now 61, was arrested in March 2006 and pleaded guilty in August 2008. He is being held at St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville and is not scheduled to be released until Feb. 22, 2027, at age 74. Prosecutors were ready with what they called “mountains of evidence” to present if the case had been tried before a jury.</p><p>According to Alabama assistant attorney general Andrew Arrington, forensic evidence suggested that Stokes stood far from his wife and pulled the trigger. He said she was likely sitting up on the side of the bed when the bullet struck her. </p><p>“This was not a close shot,” Arrington said in 2008. “He was a coward. He stood from a distance and he shot her. She didn't suffer.”</p><p>The murder was the first to happen in the small town in at least 15 years. Residents simultaneously mourned “Miss Syble's” death while fearing for their own safety.</p><p>Syble worked part time at Rockco's Funeral Home and was known as someone who would help anyone in need.</p><p>“He needs to stay in prison for the maximum 20 years, because of the choice he made to kill her,” Pullen said. “He didn't give her a chance to defend herself.”</p><p>Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.</p>